posted
You may have noticed some changes made to LymeNet over the last few days. Here is a quick status:
1. The LymeNet web site has been migrated to a new server, and features like "search" are now operating at a more reasonable speed.
2. The Internet connection has been upgraded and we are now operating well under max capacity, unlike the old line which was running 80-100% all day long.
3. This weekend we upgraded the forum software which runs the LymeNet Flash. There are some performance improvements and feature enhancements.
Several people have noticed some of the new features, such as "member ratings". This is one of several new capabilities (along with private messaging, buddy lists, ignore lists, ability to report posts to a moderator, ability to view information on currently-connected users, etc.) which we are leaving enabled for the next several weeks to determine their value.
There are detailed descriptions of all the new features available. Simply click the "faq" (Frequently Asked Questions) link at the top of most Flash pages for help.
I have already seen both positive and negative feedback on the "member ratings". Please try not to think of this as a "contest" or become offended if you don't have a "five-star rating"... There is some potential that this feature could be useful to allow the LymeNet community some degree of self-policing, either in a negative way to help discredit trolls or in a positive way to applaud the efforts of our many dedicated members as I have already observed. If you're feeling overly self-conscious then you can change a setting in "my profile" to disable the public display of your rating.
We welcome your feedback as we continue to make improvements to the system for your benefit. While it has been a rough road to get to this point, we appreciate your good faith and support.
Regards, -Tom
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Thomas Brown LymeNet System Administrator and Founding Member Posts: 82 | From Raleigh, NC | Registered: Oct 1993
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posted
Quoting the text of a message during a reply has been turned on again (and you'll see the big black quote marks show up now). After the upgrade it defaulted to "OFF", probably to eliminate duplicating pages of text in messages. Best practice if you use quotes is to cut out all text except for the main point that you are replying to, that way everyone can get right to the point without re-reading an entire previous message.
Regarding the smileys, or "graemlins" as this board calls them... We are capable of adding more into the forum software--I'll look into it.
Oh, and I see someone gave me a rating too. I guess I'll have to do what former New York mayor Ed Koch used to do and roam the streets saying, "How am I doing?"--we'll use my rating to see how well I'm keeping up with the technical issues
To answer another member's question, the ratings are an aggregate of all votes, so you really don't have to worry about one single irate person giving you a bad rating as it will all even out in the end. If you still have a bad rating after a few hundred votes then perhaps you've been unkind enough to other users to make them feel that way? No matter, as you can always disable the display of your rating if you wish.
Cheers! -Tom
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Thomas Brown LymeNet System Administrator and Founding Member Posts: 82 | From Raleigh, NC | Registered: Oct 1993
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quote:Originally posted by tbrown: Best practice if you use quotes is to cut out all text except for the main point that you are replying to, that way everyone can get right to the point without re-reading an entire previous message.
I agree. I wish everyone would do that. Thanks!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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I gave you them 5 stars cuz I figured you earned them -- always taking flak from us cranky lymies...and beause I really like the improvements around here!
Also - THIS IS WHAT WE REALLY NEED: A SPELL CHECKER! OH, PLEEEEEZ! YOU KNOW HOW OUR BRAINS ARE PRACTICALLY FRIED!
Yes, a spell checker - and a puking, crying, cussing, graemlin that's having a nervous breakdown and/or a Lyme rage.
Also - I find it interesting to see how many times a post has been viewed vs. how many times someone has responded. I don't know why - I guess its because I know there are so many lurkers - I just think it would be interesting to know what others find interesting - yet they don't want to respond for whatever reason.
And that should just about do it.
If I have other ideas, you can bet I'll be back because I want you to feel like you've earned those 5 stars that I gave you...you don't want me to lose sleep thinking, I wonder if I gave him too many stars! Dang!
Oh, and graemlins that are laughing hysterically! Those are fun. We need fun.
Blessings,
-------------------- DR. Wiseass NOT a real doc - just a real wise Posts: 792 | From USA | Registered: Jan 2005
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
Ya did good!
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
-------------------- ~Things may happen in my life time to change who I am but I refuse to let them reduce me...~ Posts: 968 | From private | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
So far there is no native spell check in any UBB.Classic forum version, although there have been a number of hacks developed to allow spell checking via a call to another web site...a bit messy, though.
Mozilla FireFox users can always install the SpellBound extension which will check the spelling of any web form, including UBB:
I DON'T have Lyme and I still don't understand what the heck Tom is saying. These brilliant tech guys are way outta my league.
Thanks so much Tom for all you've done and are continuing to do.
-------------------- Love, Angela
Posts: 572 | From New Jersey | Registered: Oct 2000
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Sue vG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3143
posted
Another thank you for all your hard work!
I have a question about editing posts. Can't seem to find a button to submit the edited post.
Okay, I figured ou the answer. The button in the Edit Post dialog is somewhat confusingly called Edit Post. As long as I know, I guess you could call it Buford and it wouldn't matter.
Posts: 1307 | From TX | Registered: Sep 2002
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Thanks again to all the administrators for the added goodies, and a special thanks to Tom (don't worry my hubby wasn't looking)!
I'm just so happy that I can now and AT THE SAME TIME - BUT NEVER TO AN ADMINISTRATOR, of course.
I think we should all give a big to the people keeping this machine up & running...
and also let us not forget the one that badgered them the most (recently) and feel free to to yours truly as much as it pleases you! I'm humble. I can take it.
OK Tom - I'll find more for you to acquire for us - as I know it gives you great joy to give us these grand gifts!
Thanks again,
-------------------- DR. Wiseass NOT a real doc - just a real wise Posts: 792 | From USA | Registered: Jan 2005
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